BanskoIncreasing numbers of winter sports enthusiasts, particularly families, are discovering the delights of a holiday in Bankso, Bulgaria’s quaint medieval alpine town turned ski resort. The resort’s top ski and snowboard school makes this a great place for beginners, and the clear slopes from the peak of Todorin Vruh are great for intermediates. Apres skimore is low-key, and there are few diversions, but the skiing can’t be beaten.

TOP TIPS - Eating out

Eat at Nadia and Mitko's restaurant - can't remember the name but all the expats there seem to know it well. It's really good food and they will have you dancing on the tables by the end of the night! - Lynn

Try to stay clear of restaurants with touts outside, try to go into the square or the old cobbled town to find cheap good bulgarian restaurants AKA Mehanas - Mandy

Much nicer than expected! - olivia and liam cooper. Date of travel: Apr 2009We read some dodgy reviews of Bansko before we went, but it is a charming place. Yes, there is a lot of work underway and parts of it look like a bomb site, but the old town is lovely. The locals were much friendlier than we'd been led to believe, particularly if you made the effort to speak a bit of the language. Skiing was great for intermediates, perhaps not so good for real beginners or advanced.

Bansko is alright - FreddieMac. Date of travel: Feb 2009Decent skiing for intermediates in Bansko, good pub and party scene in the village which still feels like a village, and good value make Bansko a sound choice for a family holiday or group trip in tough times like these.

Bansko works for me - Philipe. Date of travel: Jan 2009Love Bansko, will definitely come back. Good snow, no pretensious people. May stay at Perun next time.

Bansko Bulgaria - Mandy. Date of travel: Jan 2009A truly wonderfull resort. The old town has a lot of character and charm. Beer is very cheap. The pistes were very well looked after.

I'd recommend Bansko - Nick. Date of travel: Dec 2008Bansko is an up and coming resort and a lot of money has been spent on the ski area and lifts. The runs are very well looked after, and great for beginners to intermediates.
Bansko old town is charming and full of character, with plenty of bars and restaurants.

Bansko - Frank Nadler. Date of travel: Feb 2008Stayed at the wonderful Pirin Lodge, loved Bansko, the people and the culture.

Bansko - Siobhan. Date of travel: Feb 2008This was my first ski trip and Bansko was a really great place to learn. The ski lifts are very new and there was very little queueing. Lift passes and ski hire were cheap and the lessons I had with a local Bulgarian company were very good.
The town of Bansko is very pretty and has lots of charm.

Avoid Bansko like the Plague - Kitty. Date of travel: Jan 2008The only good thing going in Bansko is its skiing, but beware of the queues for the gondola which can be over an hour if you're not there before 8:50 am. The guys in the ski rental place are rude and give no advice or assistance in fitting boots. They did not check the info tickets properly or check people’s height, weight or ski skill when giving out poles and skis, which is highly dangerous. The après ski is not worth talking about! The handful of pubs were dead after skiing and nightlife was nearly non existent. Only for there being young fun people in our ski school with whom we created our own nights out, my boyfriend and I would have had a very dull holiday! We were in amigos bar every night but most nights there was only the 7of us in it!

Great Holiday - Lynn. Date of travel: Jan 2008We stayed at Chalet Rozov and had a brilliant time, the food was amazing - we are going to go back just for that!
The snowboarding was great and Marty showed us all the best off-piste that no one else could find. We went in Jan so there were no queues for the gondola but we still couldn't get served quickly at the mountain restaurants - they are really slow!

Lovely Bansko - Shaun Lee. Date of travel: Oct 2005Bansko is a great little town nestling at the foot of some very beautiful mountains which will be good summer and winter. The picturesque medieval town has some fine architecture and the mehannas (inns) are very friendly and serve good, cheap food and drink.

Steven Bignall. Date of travel: Sep 2005Well what can say fully worth a visit. A very nice town with great views into the mountains, crystal clear air and full of character.

Bansko was great expirience - Sabina Kramer. Date of travel: Jan 2003

WE were a company of friends from Slovenija and even there are good ski places like Krajnska Gora we liked Bansko better. The mountain was great and the ski facilities are better. The food was delicious in the mehanas. We will come back again.